Addiction and the Brain

On Wednesday Dr. Patterson spoke about addiction and the brain. He touched on many topics invovling the effects that different substances have on the brain. Many of the addictive substances or addictive because of how much dopamine the brain releases when the foriegn substance is present. For example, caffiene will produce a 20% increase in the level of dopamine, where as, meth will elivate the levels to over a 10,000% increase.

Alcohol will affect the brain differently. It effects the prefrontal lobe where reasoning occurs and it also affects the cerebellum where movement is controlled. It essentially puts them to sleep. Thus, a person feels 10 foot tall and bullet proof yet will fall off the bar stool.

Another facinating drug to me was nicotine. The only part of the brain not stimulated by the drug is the cerebellum. This is the main reason why nicotine is so addictive.

digital portforlio websites

http://www.albion.edu/digitalportfolio/
This one is done by Albion College out of Albion, MI. This website gives you a start to finish overview of a portfolio.

http://reta.nmsu.edu/Lessons/digital/
New Mexico State University also has a website dedicated to answering the "What is a digital Portfolio" question.

There are many more sites dedicated to creating a digital portfolio. All you have to do is enter digital portfolio into the search engine.

Valentine's Day Class Party

I am looking for craft ideas for the Valentine's Day party. Any and all ideas are appreciated!!

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple

We will be beginning the book The Ballad of Lucy Whipple soon in our reading groups. We will be reading a chapter at a time followed up with a guided discussion and coordinating activities.